Key Points:

• Democratic governors refuse White House invitation to NGA meeting

• The cause? President Donald Trump disinvited some governors to the event

• The National Governors Association will no longer support the White House meeting as an official event after dispute

The nation’s Democratic governors are refusing a traditional invitation to the White House during the annual meetings of the National Governors Association next week, days after President Donald Trump refused to invite some governors to what has traditionally been a bipartisan gathering.

In a statement Tuesday, 18 Democratic governors said they would not attend the traditional dinner hosted by the president, which typically takes place on the Saturday after the NGA’s annual meeting concludes.

The statement comes after the White House informed two governors in particular — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, both Democrats — that they were disinvited from the dinner portion of the event. The White House also will not invite Democratic governors to a traditionally bipartisan working session.

“If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year,” the 18 governors said in a joint statement. “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times first reported last week that the White House would only invite Republicans to the business meeting. In response, the National Governors Association said it would no longer support the White House meeting as an official event.

“To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration,” Brandon Tatum, the NGA’s acting chief executive, said in a statement to the Times. He called the White House’s decision “disappointing.”

It was unclear why Trump had singled out Moore and Polis to be left out of the dinner. Moore is the vice chair of the NGA, positioning him to take over the group next year, while Polis serves on the executive committee as the group’s immediate past chair.

Trump has clashed with Polis over the case of Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk who was convicted of criminal charges relating to an attempt to overturn the 2020 elections. Moore’s office pointed out that he was recently at the White House for discussions around energy policy.

Both men, potential presidential candidates in 2028, have been critical of the Trump administration, but no more so than some of their other colleagues. In conversations this weekend, Democrats were puzzled that Moore and Polis would be excluded while California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — frequent Trump critics — would be invited.

Walz and Newsom were among the 18 governors to sign the joint statement. A Newsom spokesperson declined to say whether he would attend the NGA meetings in Washington. The governors of Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York, Kansas, Connecticut, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Maine, Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey also signed the statement.

The National Governors Association struggled during the first year of the Trump administration to maintain a cohesive relationship among its members. In July, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Walz said they would leave the group over its failure to push back against Trump’s move to take over National Guard units. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said she, too, was considering canceling the $130,000 yearly dues her state pays the group.

Later in the year, Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker threatened to leave the group if it did not condemn Guard deployments. Newsom later decided to remain a member of the NGA.

It’s not the first time governors have boycotted the NGA. During the Obama administration, Republican-led states like Florida and Texas quit the group.